8 Things To Know About Givenchy's First Female Designer

Ahead of her debut show for the fashion house, CR takes a closer look at Clare Waight Keller

By
Aria Darcella

Sep 29, 2017

Getty Images

1. She is the first female artistic director of the fashion house.

Much like Maria Grazia Chiuri at Dior before her, Clair Waight Keller’s appointment at Givenchy was a landmark for female fashion designers. After founder Hubert de Givenchy retired in 1995, he was succeeded in short tenures by John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, and Julien MacDonald, before Riccardo Tisci finally took over in 2005. Now—for the first time in its 65 year history—a woman will be in charge of one of womenswear’s most luxurious fashion houses.

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2. She’s a versatile designer.

Forget the assumption that Waight Keller’s version of Givenchy will be ultra feminine based on her work at Chloé. She got her start at the notoriously minimalist Calvin Klein before becoming the head menswear designer of Ralph Lauren Purple Label. From there she went to Tom Ford’s sexy Gucci, until she became the creative director of Pringle of Scotland, earning her critical acclaim for her work in knitwear.

A post shared by GIVENCHY (@givenchyofficial) on Sep 10, 2017 at 8:35am PDT

3. She’s a woman with a plan.

According to a recent New York Times profile, Waight Keller wowed LVMH executives in her job interview with a 150-page plan for her new vision of the Givenchy, including clothing and accessory sketches, and a plan for monthly drops. The luxury group's CEO Bernard Arnault told the paper he thought the house under the designer has the potential to bring in Dior-sized revenues within the next two years. It’s a jump from being a multi-million Euro company to a billion Euro company.

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4. She commutes to work.

Waight Keller, who was born in Birmingham, England, resides in London with her family of five. While working at Chloé, based in Paris, she famously commuted back and forth via Eurostar. Now that she’s at Givenchy, which is also in Paris, she’ll be doing it again. Luxury designers—they’re just like us!

5. She is returning to the couture calendar.

Tisci stopped presenting his collections during couture week in 2012, showing them instead on the menswear runway and releasing lookbooks. Waight Keller plans to bring Givenchy back to the official couture calendar in a big way.

6. She's combining genders in her shows and campaigns.

The menswear ready-to-wear collections will be showcased on the same runways and in the same advertising as the house's women's collections. Givenchy’s menswear line was first established in 1969, and continues to be a leader in men’s fashion, bringing in big business for the brand. It makes sense to unify the two.

A post shared by GIVENCHY (@givenchyofficial) on Sep 12, 2017 at 6:45am PDT

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7. She is keeping the runway democratic.

Tisci made waves in the fashion world when he moved Givenchy’s Spring 2016 show to New York and then made it open to the public. More than 1,000 people were in attendance. Though Waight Keller is keeping things in Paris, she is also finding ways to welcome the greater world, introducing a wild contest for tickets. Posters have appeared in Paris, London, and Milan that appear to be looking for a lost cat but are actually instructions on how to sign up for a ticket draw. Three winners will be selected from a pool of 50,000 and counting.

A post shared by GIVENCHY (@givenchyofficial) on Sep 27, 2017 at 12:27pm PDT

8. We’ve already got a hint at what’s to come.

Thanks to a teaser ad campaign released this past summer. The images, lensed by Steven Meisel, show a female model in a black lace bodysuit, and a shirtless male model. The images are romantic, and though they are shot in a shadowy black and white, they don’t feel dark. Perhaps it’s because there are cats everywhere, all wearing Givenchy collars, which by the way, are for sale.

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